What do Ads not talk about the potential consequences of products?
When I was growing up, I saw ads on TV where girls in school uniforms were playing with toilet paper and singing "stay dry 24/7." I assumed it was some sort of food or drink, or possibly something else. It was not until I was an adult that I realized the ads were for sanitary pads. So I wondered, why did not they talk about the uses of these PADS even though they obviously wouldn't show how it was being worn?
It confused me as a 14-year-old, and it was not until I got older that I realized I might not have understood because I was not the intended audience.
Also, I wondered why most alcoholic companies would say things like "drink responsibly" after discussing the beer's ingredients and so on. Did they mean people should dress cooperately, sip the alcohol with utmost care and love? Although I understand what they meant by "...not for persons under 18" but why would they ask people to drink these stuffs responsibly?
Again, I had to mature to understand that alcohol has the potential to intoxicate people and lead to irresponsible behavior. So, why did not they just show people throwing up in their bosses' offices, pissing on the highway, or simply falling into a gutter? I mean, instead of saying drink responsibly, these videos will effectively convey the message.
Cigarette ads in 2003
The only ad I saw growing up that really left a warning about using their product was ST MORITZ; I mean, they literally had to say "smokers are liable to die young" before going on to talk about getting high and how pleasant it was.
This was in the early 2000s, and cigarettes companies are no longer allowed to make ads. I believe this was because the government viewed their products as having more negative than positive effects.
However, my point is that most advertising companies fail to convey the idea behind their products, either because they are targeting a different audience or because they intentionally omit details that should be useful to the general public.
Betting Ads in 2025
Betting companies are the worst advertisers, so the consequences of betting are rarely discussed. The addiction, craze, and psychological harm it can cause to a person. Rather, these companies constantly talk about winning.
They use the prospect of winning to entice people, ignoring the fact that 80% of gamblers lose money. They do not remind or educate people about the benefits or drawbacks, instead focusing solely on the former, because they believe that anyone over the age of 18 should be able to make their own decisions. Of course not, because if they do, how will they continue to ruin the lives of so many people while remaining in business?
I've never trusted ads and advertising companies..
The black Friday Scam
Black Friday is another misplaced ad that never tells the whole story. This explains why they have terms and conditions. They trick you into thinking you are getting something for free, but by the time you have fully fulfilled the terms and conditions, you have already paid for your product.
Ads do not tell the whole story of a product that a company is trying to sell; there is always a back story you do not know, a detail they purposefully omit, or a condition they will not tell you about until you are fully committed.
Salespeople are the worst at this, which is why I question every catch. The only person who can condemn or recommend a product is someone who has actually used it, not an advertisement.
However, ads remain very powerful, even though not everyone will be able to purchase a product simply by seeing an ad.
A successful advertisement can generate hype by putting products in front of people and getting them to talk about them.
Bringing it to your OLED SCREENS
However, in 2025, I do not believe television advertisements will thrive as much as they did in 2008. More people no longer trust their local TV station.. people are either stuck on YouTube or on Facebook.
So, what do these companies do?
They bring these ads closer to you, where you will undoubtedly see them. Why do you think companies tries too hard to involve ads in the daily lives of people?
Is it from the goodness of their heart? If you stand to gain a lot, why don't they just share these opportunities with their families alone? Why are ads about products everywhere, but you'll hardly see ads about job opportunities?
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Advertising is all meant to be a scam to get you to buy. Catch your interest to get you excited enough to shell out the cash. Tabaco companies certainly don't want you to know nicotine is addictive nor do the betting businesses want you to know gambling can be addictive. If you don't have to disclose the truth they likely won't. Never trust a large corporation to do the right thing, or for than matter, many people as well!
There's no better way to put it. If these companies are not obligated to tell the truth then they just wouldn't. I haven't gambled before, but I know people who had done and honestly they're so addicted to it and they never get to really hit that money they want because they're always trying to bet again and again to recoup all the money they've lost.
Permit me to laugh first, Hahaha 🤣🤣.
Now if these tobacco companies had added how people react when they are high on tobacco, do you think some people would have gotten continued patronizing them? No because that would mean losing the market.
Moreover, Ad contents pass through a regulating body before they go live. So such scenes you talked about can't be aired.
Yeah, I understand that some advertising scenes cannot be aired. However I still believe companies do not go all the way out to talk about the consequences of using their products, at least if any.
It boils down to making money and consumer's protection is mostly in the toilet. I've seen what drunkenness can do to people and it's far from the happy scenes that are shown from consuming alcohol on TV lol
They're in business to make money and the way to do that is paint a product white when in reality it's black.
Well now on cigarette packs there are pictures of cancers due to smoke and the written smoke kills, yet they sell them because state earns taxes out of them... Advertisement are all scams, back in the days they advertised butter is healthy and good for veins, lol
Butter, good for the vein? I'm not a nutritionist but I don't think that's the lol, but in their defense maybe they were just ignorant even if they just wanted to sell their products..
In Nigeria here, there are no pictures of cancer on cigarettes. These guys who binge-smoke wouldn't care even if the images were there.
Yea well, it's not like that people here care for the pictures, they still buy and smoke
You are right the only person that can tell you about a product is someone that has used it before. I came across a post sometime ago of a lady that was part of a group that advertised a relaxer in the early 2000s. The lady said she has never used a relaxer because of its chemical content. So while the ad was encouraging people to use it, they themselves don't use it.
I also heard from someone that has a betting shop that says he will never bet.
Most of these ad companies know what they are doing, they don't really care about the masses they are all out for just themselves and their money
It's the government that allows these companies to sell addictive and harmful products to people even though they know it's not safe..
Although they'll argue that everyone has a choice to patronize these betting companies but I still think products that are harmful shouldn't be allowed to air or do ads on TV.
I agree with you and our celebrities are making it worse. they don't have a choice on what to advertise, they do whatever they ask them to do as far as it would bring money. They forget that people, mostly young people are looking up to them
Nowadays, advertising is only to scam people.
For example, Facebook and Google shows a lot of ads related with apps where you can win a pot of money without investment or risk.
They always put down some ads related with crypto just because it is crypto, but then they keep letting this scams being displayed without problem.
!BBH
The scam products actually pays Google and Facebook for displaying these ads. These ads aren't vetted by either companies and they just put out the ads for people to do their own research. The game is the game and it's all about money.
All the ads are done to earn money off people. They wouldn't do it unless it earned them money. There is always a catch to most of it, and I agree that there are also quite a few scams out there.
Of course ads are there for companies to make money off, without the endgame of money, we know it's not useful to put that much money into ads